Soltiric Church
The Soltiric Church, or Soltirism, is a monotheistic Elrohic religion based on the life and teachings of Soltir Anagia and belief in the eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient god Elroh. Soltirists believe in the divinity of Soltir as the manifestation of Elroh's highest angel, Malenor, in flesh. In Soltiric Theology, Elroh Himself is vast and unknowable and so does not commune with humanity. Instead he makes Himself known through his angels. Of particular note are the Thrice-Crowned Beings who reign over humanity; Malenor (Mouth of Elroh), Makuur (Hand of Elroh), and Kenare (Eye of Elroh). Together they are the triumvirate King of Earth, the terrestrial counterpart to Elroh as King of Heaven, and enact His will on earth. The King of Heaven is symbolically wed to the Queen of Heaven, the Maiden Isiltar, progenitor of the line of prophet-kings of Qama. As Soltir Anagia was Malenor's being manifest in flesh, he is considered to have been the mortal representative of the King of Earth to all of humanity. Soltiric canon is formed by both the Divine Mandate as written by Soltir and the Discourses of the Thirty Kings that came before him which also form the basis of the Elsarist canon. Diverse interpretation of both has led to multiple schisms of the church to create multiple competing Soltiric denominations, each naming itself the sole legitimate Soltiric Church. The largest of these is the Crowned Church of Merem, based in the city-state of Sentar, followed by the Congress Church of the Pentarchy '''governed by a coalition of five holy congresses across Western Ortus. Also notable are the '''Commonwealth Churches who split from the Crowned Church of Merem and reject the primacy of the Princep. Crowned Church of Merem The Crowned Church of Merem is not considered to consist of multiple churches, but to be one single church manifest in multiple rites and traditions across different lands and people. Each rite is in communion with the Princep of Sentar, who maintains primacy over the church as a whole and is considered its doctrinal leader. It consists of six main rites; the Sentarion Rite, the largest, practiced across the Sentarion Commonwealth, Venkort, Meredonia, Merres, and southern Gauterland; the Aegic Rite, practiced in Ardair, Verrix, and Mealla; the Qamese Rite, practiced in the ancient Soltiric communities in eastern Altin around the city of Warat; the Rite of Khesh, practiced in Dovan and throughout the Kascai mountain range; the Selene Rite practiced in the historic Soltiric communities along the Manzahr River; and the Rite of Shevir practiced by a minority in Shevir. Congress Church of the Pentarchy The Congress Church of the Pentarchy is a conglomerate of several churches, each governed by a Holy Congress which elects a Divine Consul to lead that church from. These consuls meet at irregular summits to define the doctrinal teachings they share. Each congress is based in one of six Cardinal Chairs, over which the Telosine Church maintains formal primacy as first among equals. The Telosine Church has its Cardinal Chair in the city of Telozium and is practiced by ethnic Erosenes; the Mernovan Church has its Cardinal Chair in Belkor and is practiced across Mernove as official state church; the Church of Meras has its Cardinal Chair in the Ranoran capital of Meras and predominates in Zapevina (other than the Dragasto Republic) and Lovas; the Church of the Ancient Communities has its Cardinal Chair in Selenia and represents a united congress of the historic communities in Altin, the Bient, and Shevir; the Church of Khesh has its Cardinal Chair in the city of Khesh and is state religion of Dovan predominant through the Kascai mountains; and the Salbaric Church has its Cardinal Chair in Bhan Qadas and is state religion in Janbat. Commonwealth Churches The Commonwealth Churches do not represent a single denomination or doctrinal position, and are merely a grouping of broadly similar doctrines sharing a common heritage. Each claims ideological succession from a group of reformists who split from the perceived corruption of the Crowned Church of Merem and rejected Principal authority. The largest of these churches is the Sovereign Communion which is the state church in Brimwall and led from the capital of Briglas by the Brimwic monarch, consisting of several constituent churches. It also maintains a majority in the Coalition of Free Republics. Commonwealth churches tend to be local national churches tied to secular administration, such as the Church of Norra. A broad grouping of independent Grimmse Churches predominate in northern Gauterland.